There are numerous types of blankets. There are conventional wool, fleece, cotton, flannel, down and electrical thermal blankets. These blankets can be purchased where bedding and/or blankets are sold. These blankets are also referred to as conventional blankets.
Other types of blankets include convective blankets. Since 1992, Gaymar manufactures and sells convective warming blankets to prevent or treat hyper/hypothermia. Gaymar's blankets feature an inflatable quilt-like structure. The blankets attach two sheets of the same amount of flexible, lightweight material around their periphery and at various spots along their surfaces. In operation, heated air flows onto a patient's body from holes in the undersurface of Gaymar's blankets, but the blankets do not form a self-supporting or Quonset hut-like structure. Instead, Gaymar's blankets lie flat when inflated on a flat surface and rest substantially on a patient when in use.
Other blankets receive a fluid and the fluid circulates through and out of the blanket through conduits. Examples of these blankets include and are not limited to Gaymar's DHP 600 Series Hyper/Hypothermia blanket, DHL520 Rapr Round Blanket and T-pads. These blankets are similar to the convective blankets except there are no holes in the undersurface. Instead, the fluid traverses through a path defined by areas where the two sheets are joined together. Once the entire fluid circulates through the path, the fluid is released through an outlet to a conduit. Hereinafter, such blankets are referred to as fluid path blankets.
For this application, the term “blanket” by itself, refers to any of the above-identified blankets. If a particular type of blanket is identified, then that sentence and/or paragraph is limited to that particular blanket design.
A problem with the blankets is that the blankets can not be positioned below the user and simultaneously extend toward the opposite side of the user (that includes sides of the user) without adhesives. Adhesives and tape can occlude the flow of the fluid in the convective and fluid path blankets. Such occlusion can be deleterious to providing the desired thermal energy to certain parts of the opposite side of the user.
Another problem with using tape is that tape does not allow the user to easily reposition the blanket without subjecting the blanket to rips and tears.
Another problem with tape is that some patients have skin reactions to the tape and the adhesive of the tape.
These problems and others are solved by the present invention.